Justification This species has been uplisted to Vulnerable because, although it remains abundant locally, anecdotal evidence suggests that overall it has undergone a very rapid population decline owing mainly to trapping on wintering grounds. A program of co-ordinated range-wide monitoring of this species is sorely needed in order to validate the precautionarily suspected rapid declines.

Family/Sub-family Emberizidae

Species name author Pallas, 1773

Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

120,000 - 1,000,000

decreasing

15,700,000 km²

No

Range & population Emberiza aureola breeds across the northern Palaearctic from Finland, Belarus and Ukraine in the west, through Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia, to far eastern Russia, Korea and northern Japan. In the autumn, birds stop-over in large numbers to moult in the Yangtze Valley, China before continuing on to their winter quarters. It winters throughout a relatively small area in southern and south-east Asia which includes eastern Nepal, north-east India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand¹. It was formerly one of the most abundant breeding passerines across vast swathes of Siberia, but, although it remains common in some regions^17,19, and although there have been no systematic surveys, a severe decline has been noted in most breeding areas and it has completely disappeared from parts of its former breeding range over the last twenty years. No birds have bred in Finland in the last three years and its range has contracted northwards by 300 km in Kazakhstan over the last 15 years; it has declined rapidly in Russia both in the Moscow and Baikal Regions, and severe declines have also recently been noted in Hokkaido, Japan and Mongolia^2,7,9,13,14. It no longer occurs as "swarms" at migration watch-points such as Beidaihe, China, and although a range-wide survey is required, numbers at wintering sites throughout its range have also shown rapid declines over the last twenty years^{2,4,5,6,8,9,18,20}.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It breeds in wet meadows with tall vegetation and scattered scrub, riverside thickets and secondary scrub. It winters in large flocks in cultivated areas, rice fields and grasslands, preferring scrubby dry-water rice fields for foraging and reedbeds for roosting¹¹.

Threats Since many populations on pristine breeding grounds have dropped rapidly, the decline is likely to be driven by excessive trapping at migration and, in particular, wintering sites^2,3,18,20. Roosting flocks in reedbeds are disturbed and then caught in mistnets, they are cooked and sold as "sparrows" or "rice-birds"; this practice was formerly restricted to a small area of southern China, but has now become more widespread and popular owing to increasing affluence, and hunters now have to travel widely to find sufficient birds^{16,18, 20}. Although it is illegal in some areas, over a million individuals are killed annually to be sold as snacks¹³. In China, thousands of males are also stuffed and sold as mascots, since their presence in the home is thought to confer happiness¹³. At least locally, birds are trapped for "merit release" in temples¹². Agricultural intensification, the shift to irrigated rice production and consequent loss of winter stubble has reduced the quality and quantity of wintering habitat, and the loss of reedbeds has reduced the number of available roost sites^8,10,12. Declines caused by pressures on the wintering grounds are compounded by a reduction in habitat quality on the breeding grounds in parts of its range, particularly drying of meadows caused by changes in the flow pattern of rivers, a result of dam construction upstream^7,14.

Conservation measures underway It is counted occasionally as part of ongoing IBA monitoring in a few sites.

Conservation measures proposed Design a program of co-ordinated range wide monitoring to determine the magnitude of the decline. Implement the monitoring program at breeding, passage and non-breeding sites. Through awareness campaigns, reduce the demand for the species, both as a snack and a mascot. Research its precise habitat requirements on the wintering grounds. Protect sites which still hold large numbers on the wintering grounds.

References 1. Byers et al. (1995). 2. S. Chan in litt. (2003). 3. P. Round in litt. (2003). 4. M. Williams in litt. (2003). 5. J. W. Duckworth in litt. (2003). 6. N. Moores in litt. (2003). 7. O. Goroshko in litt. (2003). 8. T. Evans in litt. (2007). 9. M. Gilbert in litt. (2007). 10. J. Tordoff in litt. (2007). 11. T. Gray in litt. (2007). 12. J. C. Eames in litt. (2007). 13. A. Mischenko in litt. (2007). 14. J. Kamp in litt. (2007). 15. M. Ellermaa in litt. (2007). 16. M. Lau in litt. (2007). 17. M. Flade in litt. (2007). 18. M. Williams in litt. (2007). 19. C. Zöckler in litt. (2007). 20. S. Chan in litt. (2007).

Further web sources of information

Detailed species account from Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status (BirdLife International 2004)

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Contributors Simba Chan (Wild Bird Society of Japan), Will Duckworth (Wildlife Conservation Society), Jonathan C Eames (BirdLife International in Indochina), Margus Ellermaa (BirdLife SUOMI-FINLAND), Tom Evans (Wildlife Conservation Society), John Fellowes (Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden), Martin Flade (Brandenburg State Agency for Large Protected Areas), Martin Gilbert (Wildlife Conservation Society), O. Goroshko, Tom Gray (University of East Anglia), Johannes Kamp (Universitat Oldenburg), Michael Lau (Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden), Alexander L. Mischenko (Russian Bird Conservation Union), Nial Moores (UPO Wetlands Centre), John Pilgrim (BirdLife International), Colin Poole (Wildlife Conservation Society), P. Round, Jack Tordoff (BirdLife International), Martin Williams, Christoph Zöckler (UNEP - WCMC)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Emberiza aureola. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 9/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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